Newsletter September 2015

Safer Communities Fund Grant Round 5 Awards

I awarded 38 projects from across West Yorkshire a share
of £150,000 from grant round 5 of the Safer Communities Fund
(SCF). Successful applicants gathered at Brighouse High
School to receive their cheques of up to £5000. The SCF grants come
from money seized from criminals by West Yorkshire Police under the
Proceeds of Crime Act. I started the fund one and a half years ago
and have given out over £850,000 to good causes so far. The next
grant round opens on 1st September 2015 with £140,000
available, if you're interested in applying then please visit my
website to check that you meet the required criteria and for
information on how to apply.

Young people warned
of the dangers of sharing sexual images

West Yorkshire Police, partners and my office are
advising under 16's of the negative impact either requesting or
sharing sexual images can have on their lives and their
futures. The new 'think before you send' campaign features
advice for victims and messages warning those who request 'sexual
images' that they are potentially committing criminal offences. It
is very important that young people recognise the risks of
'sexting' and the dangers associated with it. That is why I have
used money taken from criminals and invested it into this campaign
to make sure it reaches the right people and has the maximum
impact. The police cannot and must not work in isolation to deal
with 'sexting' and a number of key partners from across West
Yorkshire have come together to launch this campaign which I
whole-heartedly support.

Event to tackle Female Genital Mutilation a success

The event was the first time that statutory and
community partners from across the county had come together with me
to discuss work to prevent and raise awareness of FGM, including
how best to support victims. During the event there were
presentations from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Black Health
Initiative (BHI) and the Crown Prosecution Service as well as a
moving spoken word performance from Leeds Young Authors, who were
brought to the event by BHI. The excellent and emotive performance
by Leeds Young Authors, which can be viewed on my website, really
helped to concentrate people's minds on what victims go through. I
would also like to thank everyone else who played their part during
the day and helped to make sure the event was a great success. It
has helped to not only raise awareness of the issue but also saw
various different organisations coming together and sharing their
knowledge and expertise. Only by working together can we make a
real difference. FGM is a terrible crime and tackling it is a
priority within my Police and Crime Plan.

Youth Advisory Group visits Carr Gate Training Facility

Members of my Youth Advisory Group (YAG) as well as
members from the Junior Neighbourhood Watch, Warwick Watches, have
seen first-hand how police officers gain the skills to keep our
communities safe. The group visited Carr Gate to see the
public order training arena, the firearms ranges and the National
Police Air Service facility. They also got to see the
warehouse-style arena set up to recreate challenges officers would
face maintaining public order, including a pub, shops, a town
square and a football stand. The groups had asked for the visit to
help them in their understanding of operational policing.

Cyber crime
grant

The fight against cyber-crime in West Yorkshire has been
given a boost following the approval of a £643,290 grant from the
Police Knowledge Fund. This funding will be used to
produce an evidence-based approach to fighting cyber-crime from the
frontline and will therefore improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of investigating cyber enabled crime. The Police are
dealing with ever more complex crimes including a growing amount of
cyber-crime and the project will analyse how cyber-crime is
currently investigated from the experience of the member of public
reporting the crime, to the call taker, the attending officer,
investigator and the Crown Prosecution Service - it will identify
any gaps and needs in the policing of cyber-crime.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Crime Prevention Roadshow

I opened a Crime Prevention Roadshow at St James's
University Hospital with Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of the
Leeds Teaching Hospitals. It was a fantastic event and it
was good to meet lots of the people and see some of the initiatives
and equipment that is helping to keep staff and members of the
public safe. The Trust, West Yorkshire Police, Safer Leeds and
other partners have done a great job of preventing and reducing
crime and this Crime Prevention Roadshow is testament to their
committed working relationships.

Office spend per size
of population is one of the lowest in the country

A national report from the TaxPayers' Alliance that
shows that my office spend per size of population is one of the
lowest in the country. The report shows that, out of 41
Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales, West Yorkshire
is the 3rd* cheapest in terms of spend per 1000 members of the
electorate and much cheaper than the previous Police Authority.